Since 1988, the Royal Rumble has become one of the most popular and commercially successful matches in WWE.

The rules for the annual matchup are simple, yet over the years, WWE have introduced and amended set rules, meaning that there are numerous unwritten rules that are officially canon to the Rumble match.

So – with that being said, let’s look at Royal Rumble rules you didn’t know existed.

9: Multiple Gimmicks From The Same Wrestler Can Enter The Match

It’s outright stated that it’s one entry per person for the Royal Rumble, yet this doesn’t apply to gimmicks.

In 1998, Mick Foley entered the match using three distinct characters, and this was legally allowed, as technically, it was three different entities entering the match.

This means that in theory, Kane could enter the Rumble match as Masked Kane, then re-enter as Corporate Kane.

This has only been done in one single Rumble match, and it’s likely to never be replicated as a single wrestler taking up multiple spots in the match will no doubt lead to severe backlash online.

8: You Can Get Disqualified

WWE have seemed to flip-flop between whether the Royal Rumble matchup is no disqualification.

The match has seen numerous weapons be used, including in 2001, when an entire section of the acclaimed match was dedicated to hardcore antics. Whenever weapons were used in the match, it was just assumed that the match was a NO DQ encounter, and no wrestler could be penalised.

However, in 2008, Finlay was disqualified from the Rumble match. Finlay would enter the match before his allocated slot to attack Mark Henry and Big Daddy V, and because Finlay did this, and used a weapon, he was disqualified from the match.

It appears that wrestlers are allowed to use weapons if they enter at their allocated number; however, any early involvement in the in-ring action could potentially result in a subsequent disqualification.

The rules surrounding this remain complex, as in 2003, Christian was involved in Chris Jericho’s scheme to distract Shawn Michaels early on in the match, and Christian was still allowed to re-enter the match when his time came. This could likely be explained that because Christian didn’t physically enter the ring, then it didn’t count as an attempt to enter the annual matchup.

7: You Can Enter At Your Own Leisure

It’s often the case that wrestlers charge to the ring when their music hits, yet this isn’t a set rule that wrestlers must follow.

Over the years, wrestlers have smartly taken their time to enter the matchup, and some of them have even decided to rest on the outside, or even deliver commentary.

In 1991, it was mentioned in passing that a wrestler has until the next entrant to make his way into the ring, yet this was never enforced in any subsequent years, and obviously, this rule implies that the number 30 entrant has an entire calendar year to enter the matchup.

WWE has to limit these kinds of spots, as if every wrestler just stalled on the outside of the ring, it would make for an awkward and bizarre matchup, yet nevertheless, it is indeed a rule that wrestlers don’t have to immediately enter the action.

6: If You’re Sick You Don’t Get Replaced

If a wrestler is injured on the day of the show, they will usually be replaced; however, it looks like different rules apply to illness.

In 1994, Bastion Booger was set to make his entrance, yet he never showed. It was later explained that Booger had food poisoning.

In reality, WWE didn’t replace Booger as the roster was unbelievably thin, and Booger had legitimately no showed the event. However, in the kayfabe world of pro wrestling, this seemed to imply that illness means the wrestler’s spot remains open, just in-case they can make it at the very last second.

5: Can You Eliminate Yourself?

Over the years, numerous wrestlers have eliminated themselves in order to attack an arch-rival; however, it was once explicitly stated that wrestlers aren’t permitted to do this.

In the 1992 Royal Rumble, Macho Man Randy Savage jumped over the top rope to attack Jake Roberts, and the commentary team stated that Savage had been eliminated. However, this was a botch, and Savage wasn’t supposed to be eliminated. This meant that WWE had no choice but to call an audible, and literally change the Rumble rules as they went along. Due to Savage’s botch, the WWE commentary team would then declare that because Savage wasn’t literally thrown over the top-rope, he was able to return to the match.

It was very confusing, and this rule hasn’t been applied since.

4: There Can Only Be One Winner

The 1994 Royal Rumble was historic, as it saw two wrestlers win the Royal Rumble for the first-time ever. Both Bret Hart and Lex Luger fell out of the ring at the same time, and as a result, it was declared that both men would be heading to WrestleMania.

However, over a decade later at the 2005 Rumble, when both John Cena and Batista fell out of the ring at the same time, it was ruled that the match needed to be re-started, as only one man could win, and headline WrestleMania.

The kayfabe explanation of this rule is that it’s down to the President of the company at the time of the incident. For instance, in 1994, WWE President, Jack Tunney made the executive call to have two winners; then in 2005, it was WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon’s call to re-start the matchup.

So, whilst in theory, the rule is only one wrestler can win, history shows that the showrunner has ultimate authority in this regard.

In 2012, WWE released a list of rules that fans weren’t aware of, and in the rules, they outright stated that if two men win the Rumble, then the acting authority figure doesn’t just have the power to crown one or both men as the winner, they can restart the match with all 30-competitors:

“There always must be a winner in the Royal Rumble Match, but what if the last two participants are eliminated at the same time? Two specific incidents in Rumble history caused WWE to institute a peculiar contingency plan to give the General Manager (or Commissioner) more flexibility when tasked with making a very tough call.”

“While it's proven to be a rare occurrence, there's no doubt this kind of scenario creates a lot of confusion, and leaves one Superstar thinking he may have been robbed of a victory. What better way to assure even odds – and keep the WWE Universe on its toes – than to make the final two participants fight 28 other Superstars over again? After all, who wouldn't want to witness double the Royal Rumble Match madness in one night? Now that's "People Power"!

3: You Can Use Anything To Avoid Elimination

One of the most exciting elements of the Royal Rumble match is seeing how wrestlers avoid elimination. Names such as Kofi Kingston and Naomi have made lasting memories avoiding elimination in some of the craziest ways imaginable, and the best thing about these spots are that they are totally legal.

Wrestlers are permitted to use any weapons or objects around the ringside area to avoid elimination, and they can seemingly also use outside wrestlers for help to stay in the ring.

However, if a wrestler was to receive assistance from a wrestler that has yet to enter the match, then this could potentially lead to a disqualification; that’s if WWE wanted to go down the 2008 route.

2: You Can Legally Attack A Royal Rumble Participant

Being a part of a Royal Rumble is a huge opportunity for a WWE wrestler, yet in kayfabe, a wrestler can legally have their spot in the Rumble taken away from them.

Numerous instances of this have occurred over the years, notably in 1999, when Headbanger Mosh was about to make his entrance, he was attacked backstage by Mabel. Mabel then simply walked out of the backstage area to the ring, and WWE even played Mabel’s theme, thus implying that this was legally allowed, and a wrestler can be attacked backstage and replaced by their attacker. A truly crazy rule if you think about it…

A similar incident occurred in 2004, when Test was laid out backstage by Mick Foley. This time, Stone Cold Steve Austin directly ordered Foley to get to the ring and replace Test, and this seemed to imply that it’s a condition that the attacker must replace the original Rumble entrant.

Almost identical rules apply when it comes to stolen numbers, as in 2005, Kurt Angle simply stole Nunzio’s number backstage, and this was legally allowed, despite Angle already having a World Title match on the show.

1: You Can Outright Request To Replace An Injured Wrestler

In 2019, as an injured Lana was hobbling to the ring, Becky Lynch came out and requested that she should be the one to replace Lana in the match. This was then approved by Finlay, and Lynch was allowed to enter the match, and she went on to win the whole thing.

However, what would have happened if multiple wrestlers began to fight for the spot? Would Finlay just have had to pick one at random? And what would have happened if Lynch simply attacked Lana?

Interestingly, at the same show, Nia Jax attacked R-Truth on the entrance ramp, and she proceeded to enter the men’s match. This obviously implied that wrestlers can still be attacked and subsequently replaced even when they are entering the match. However, if Jax went on to win the match, the official status of her win would be up for debate, and the imaginary WWE rulebook would have to surface.